


Power

by babystellagibson



Category: The Fall (TV), The Fall (UK 2013)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:25:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8331193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babystellagibson/pseuds/babystellagibson
Summary: WARNING: Contains mild spoilers for Season 3! Also I’m using one of the lamest and most overused tropes ever! *** indicates a change in location or the passing of time :)





	1. Chapter 1

‘Ma’am,’ Anderson’s tone is sheepish as he stands in the doorway of her office, arm in sling, expression ever so slightly forlorn as always.

‘Yes?’ Stella replies, looking up from the papers spread out on her desk.

‘I… can’t go to London with Ferrington. My doctor has already said I shouldn’t be back at work yet, and he says the strain of travel and lugging a suitcase around just isn’t what my body needs right now. I’m sorry Ma’am. I’m sure DC Martin would be happy to go in my place? Would you like me to organise it?’ 

‘No need, Anderson. It’s probably best that I go, anyway.’ Stella smiles cursorily, returning her gaze to her papers. 

‘Ah… alright ma’am. Are you sure you should be out of Belfast?’

‘It’s only a few days,’ Stella remarks, closing one folder and opening another. ‘I hope your arm feels better soon,’ another cursory smile, and Anderson leaves, but not before casting a lingering gaze her way. Stella picks up the phone and dials the number she has long since learned by heart. 

‘Dani,’

‘Yes, Ma’am?’ 

‘I’ll be going to London with you. Anderson is… unfit. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.’ 

‘Oh, I hope Anderson is doing okay?’ Dani replies, the question obligatory more than anything, the excitement in her voice easily detectable. 

‘He’s fine. Just needs some rest. See you tomorrow, Dani.’ 

‘See you tomorrow, Ma’am,’ Dani replies, and the line goes dead. Stella smiles to herself slightly, staring off into the distance, before returning to her papers.

***

The plane skids on to the tarmac at Gatwick Airport, jolting both Stella and Dani out of their respective slumbers. Dani looks down and sees her hand, pressed against Stella’s on the armrest, and quickly retracts it, her face turning red. Stella turns, unfazed, and peers out of the window. 

‘Hello, London,’ she mutters, under her breath, but not so quietly that Dani doesn’t hear it. 

***

They pull up at The Montcalm, and Dani’s eyes widen.

‘Are we staying here, Ma’am?’ she exclaims, as Stella pushes her way out of the car door. 

‘It would appear so,’ Stella replies, casting a glance Dani’s way as she picks up her handbag. 

‘Don’t you have a place in London?’ Dani asks, sidling along to exit on Stella’s side rather than her own. 

‘Not at the moment, actually. My lease ended not long after I arrived in Belfast, and I didn’t see much point in renewing.’ 

‘I see,’ Dani replies, following Stella’s quick-heeled step into the foyer, typically London, brick-ceilinged and dotted with deep brown leather sofas and antique wooden furniture. 

‘Reservation for Anderson and Ferrington,’ Stella breathes. The concierge taps away at his keyboard, smiling. 

‘Ah yes, we have you in the one bedroom Park Lane suite,’ 

‘And Ferrington?’ 

‘Oh… we only have the booking for the two of you. In the one bedroom Park Lane suite,’ 

‘Well, there must be a mistake. There are supposed to be two separate rooms. One under Anderson, one under Ferrington.’ Stella replies, matter-of-factly. Dani bristles behind her, and the concierge tap-tap-taps at his keyboard.

‘I’m… I’m afraid not, ma’am. Only the one booking was made.’ 

‘Well, can we add another room?’

‘I’m afraid we’re booked out, ma’am. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience,’ 

‘I see. Dani,’ Stella turns to Dani ‘Do you mind sharing a room with me?’ 

‘Uh…’ Dani is slack-jawed, clearly awestruck by the very concept. ‘Of course not, ma’am,’ 

‘Good.’ Stella turns back to the concierge. ‘Could you have the porter take our bags and show us the way?’ 

‘Of course, Ma’am. I’m so sorry again for the inconvenience.’ 

***

‘Wow,’ Dani says, as the door clicks shut behind her. Her eyes dart from the mahogany four poster bed to the dark leather sofa. ‘Well, I don’t mind sleeping on the sofa, ma’am,’ 

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Stella says nonchalantly, sauntering over to the bed and throwing her bag onto it. ‘I’m going to take a bath before we get stuck in. Do you need the bathroom?’

No… go ahead…’ Dani replies. 

‘Well, prepare yourself. We have a fair amount of paperwork to get through, once we get to Scotland Yard.’ 

***

Nine hours later, Stella and Dani walk sombrely into the foyer, having discovered things far worse than either of them could ever have imagined. From what they have uncovered, it appears that Paul Spector didn’t just murder women in Belfast, but has carved a horrific path throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, imprisoning, strangling and murdering multiple women along the way, and leading the wrong people to take the fall for many of his crimes.

‘I don’t know about you, Dani… but I need a drink.’ Stella remarks. She looks genuinely sad. 

‘I’m glad you said so, Ma’am…’ Dani replies, closing her eyes briefly. 

‘Please… call me Stella,’ Stella smiles, holding Dani’s gaze.

‘Sorry ma- Stella. Force of habit,’ Dani smiles back nervously. 

‘Come on,’ Stella nods towards the aptly named Nirvana Bar. 

***

‘I can’t believe… I can’t believe how far this goes,’ Dani remarks, swallowing half of her glass of red in a single gulp. 

‘I can,’ Stella muses, swilling the ice around her quadruple shot of Balvenie. 

‘Well in any case, Ma’am, the way you managed to get that bartender to pour you a quadruple shot was very impressive,’ Dani attempts a subject change, her expression hopeful. 

‘A tragedy of this calibre calls for nothing less…’ Stella muses, staring off into the distance. 

‘We will put him away, ma’am,’ Dani stares at Stella’s cool, glassy eyes, trying to catch her gaze.

‘Stella’ she replies, gazing over at the bar, her mind evidently still on the case.

‘Ah, right- Stella,’ 

‘And yes, we will. I can see through this pathetic little act he’s putting on a million miles away. If only everybody else involved could,’ 

‘It’s a shame we have to entertain it…’ 

‘A monumental one,’ Stella still doesn’t catch Dani’s eye. 

‘He will go down. The evidence is insurmountable at this point.’ 

‘I wish it was as simple as that, but there are loopholes - ways. And if those repugnant defense lawyers can find them, they will. In any case, I’m tired of Spector for today. Let’s talk about something else.’ 

‘Of course,’ Dani finishes her wine in a second gulp, and places the glass on the varnished mahogany table between them. 

‘Are you seeing anyone at the moment?’ Stella asks, bringing her gaze up to meet Dani’s, entirely unexpectedly. Dani does not shy away. 

‘Well, not at the moment m- Stella. To be honest, I’ve been too busy with work.’ 

‘I see,’ Stella replies, bringing her whisky to her lips, not breaking eye contact.

‘And you?’ Dani risks it. 

‘Me?’

‘Well, there were… Chinese whispers. About you and Anderson.’

‘Yes, I did sleep with Anderson.’

‘Oh,’ Dani is obviously taken aback, and breaks eye contact, searching the room for a waiter. Thankfully, one approaches.

‘Can I get you another drink, ma’am?’ he says. He is tall with the dark, chiseled features of a film star, a trendy haircut, and his arms are covered in tattoos, from what is revealed below the turned up white sleeves of his shirt. He can’t be more than twenty. His eyes run all over Stella - her hair, her partially open white silk blouse, her black pencil skirt, her black suede pumps. Stella returns his gaze, eyebrow quirked. 

‘Another glass of Malbec, please,’ Dani says, handing her empty glass to him.

‘And for you?’ he says to Stella.

‘I’m fine for now, thank you,’ Stella responds. He smiles and trots off obediently. 

‘I envy you, you know,’ Stella says, before draining her quadruple whisky in one shot.

‘I’m sorry?’ Dani replies, clearly shocked. Stella’s eyes are closed and she’s breathing deeply, clearly feeling the effects of the whisky. 

‘You are entirely unbothered with men. I envy that.’ 

‘Well… you know that I’m-’

‘Gay, yes. But that’s not what I’m talking about.’ Stella muses, staring off into the distance again. 

‘Then… what do you mean?’ Dani asks, curious. 

‘What if I told you that I prefer women?’ 

‘Uh- well I uh-‘ Dani struggles to suppress the deep blush creeping up her neck, under Stella’s watchful gaze. 

‘I much prefer women to men. But when you’ve spent twenty years in the Met having to fight against every man and his precious patriarchal notions, living under eternal scrutiny simply for not being a man… you take what little power you can get. For me, that comes in the form of sexual power. Men are weak, when it comes to sex. Helpless. Slaves to their own impulses. Power is easy to gain. Women, however…’ 

‘You don’t think a woman could be a slave to her impulses?’ Dani catches Stella’s eye, her gaze challenging.

‘Well… women certainly aren’t as easily manipulated. There’s a lot more to it.’

‘And you don’t feel like you have the same power over women?’ Dani asks, retaining eye contact. Stella leans over the table, a serious expression on her face as she casts her eyes down.

‘Sometimes,’ she says, wiping a drop of red wine from the table with her thumb before bringing her gaze back up to meet Dani’s. ‘I almost feel that women have power over me…’ 

‘Almost?’

‘Almost.’ The waiter returns with Dani’s second glass of wine.

‘Here you go, ma’am,’ he smiles, handing Dani her glass of wine. 

‘Bring me a quadruple Balvenie 21, please,’ Stella says to him. 

‘A quadruple?’ he replies, looking confused.

‘Yes. I’m sure you can make it happen,’ Stella replies, winking at him. Dani’s eyebrows hit her hairline. She has never seen Stella wink before. 

‘I’ll do my best, ma’am,’ he replies, before scurrying off.

‘So… women have power over you?’ Dani grins. 

‘Almost…’ 

‘Almost is a fine line,’ Dani replies, holding Stella’s gaze.

‘Is that so?’ 

‘it is.’ 

‘Quadruple Balvenie,’ the waiter announces, having returned almost instantly. He leans over the table with a tray carrying two doubles. 

‘Close enough,’ Stella smirks, reaching up and handing one to Dani before taking one for herself. ‘Do you like Scotch, Dani?’ 

‘Can’t say I’ve had it before,’ Dani replies, sniffing at the glass and wincing. 

‘Drink,’ Stella commands, and Dani obeys. They both finish their glasses, Stella at ease, Dani recoiling.

‘Christ almighty,’ Dani says ‘I’ve had my share of Baileys and Jameson but this tastes like dirt!’ 

‘Well, that’s the idea. Balvenie is a heavily peated Scotch. Come on,’ Stella places her glass on the table. ‘Let’s go,’ 

\- TBC -


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

They swing into the hotel room, both a little drunk.

‘Why anyone would drink Scotch when Irish Whiskey exists… I don’t know,’ Dani continues her tirade from the hallway, and Stella laughs, leaning down to pull her silk robe out of her bag, throwing it on to the bed.

‘Well, it is an acquired taste. Evidently you're yet to acquire it.’

’Right… right…’ Dani laughs, making her way over to her own bag, which is still sitting on the sofa. Stella steps out of her pumps and is suddenly five inches shorter. Dani stares, remarking this. She’s so used to Stella being practically the same height as her.

‘You’re very short,’ she blurts out drunkenly, before she can stop herself.

‘A remarkable observation,’ Stella replies, flashing a faint smile. She holds Dani’s gaze as she begins to unbutton her white silk blouse. Dani does not flinch, and watches as Stella deftly flicks at the buttons, revealing a cream lace bralette, through which her nipples can be seen. Dani stares, her lips parting with a small, moist pop that suddenly seems like the loudest sound on Earth. ‘You don’t mind me undressing in front of you… do you?’ Stella teases, quirking an eyebrow.

‘Quite the opposite, Ma’am,’

‘Stella,’

‘Stella…’ Dani parrots the correction, staring as Stella slips the blouse off of her shoulders and throws it on to the bed next to the robe, now just in her pencil skirt and bra, staring, her gaze a magnetic force, pulling Dani over to her, one foot in front of the other until they’re standing so close to each other they can see the alternating flecks of colour in each other’s irises. The window-dulled hum of the bustling city outside narrates that there are indeed other human beings on Earth, although either woman could be fooled to the contrary, everything else forgotten all of a sudden in the beauty of the all-consuming presence of sexual desire. They are locked in a staring contest of sorts, and a taxi sounds its horn somewhere outside, a call to action. Boldly, Dani slides her hands around Stella’s waist, her eyes greeted with the view of a quirked eyebrow, the only acknowledgement of the action. Stella is otherwise stock still, awaiting Dani’s next move, or perhaps plotting her own.

A siren echoes faintly somewhere far off, and Dani pulls Stella closer by her waist, small between her hands, somehow smaller than it would seem to look at, and then the dopamine spikes, and like the first lightning strike breaking through a sky of deep grey cumulonimbus, their lips collide, hot whisky and wine, and Stella’s fingers make light work of Dani’s blouse, which falls to the floor with a satisfying rumple.

Stella slides her fingers into Dani’s hair as Dani gently pushes her over to the grand, four poster, king-sized bed, until her knees buckle at the edge and she falls on to her back.

‘Well, this is unexpected,’ Stella smirks, her blonde curls fanned around her head like a halo, eyebrows raised as Dani crawls over her. Dani smiles down at her, pulling at the zip on the side of her skirt before pulling the skirt itself off, backing away and placing errant kisses on Stella’s hips and thighs as she does so.

‘Is it really…’ Dani replies, moving up and returning the kisses in the same pattern.

‘I didn’t have you pegged as the dominant type…’

‘Then you were wrong…’ Dani pushes Stella’s arms up over her head, pinning her wrists down, before leaning down to kiss her, gently, teasingly. ‘I might be obedient when we’re at work…’ she remarks, tying Stella’s wrists up with the sleeves of her own silk shirt. ‘But here…’ she kisses Stella, shifting both their bodies properly onto the bed ‘…is another story…’

‘Is that so?’ Stella smirks up at her, at ease.

‘Prove me wrong…’ Dani replies, pushing Stella further onto the bed, kissing her with a little more fervour this time. Stella bites Dani’s bottom lip, hard, and pulls at it, and Dani moans with the pain and pleasure of the action. Within seconds, Stella’s hands are free of the silk shirt’s sleeves, and she has flipped everything, bearing down over Dani, holding her wrists down with a strong grip.

‘Don’t challenge me…’ she says, her expression serious, her gaze dark, boring into Dani ‘because I will win…’

‘I guess we’ll see about that,’ Dani grins up at her, and tries to wrestle her way out from under Stella, to no avail, the struggle of their bodies against each other, skin rubbing hot and smooth only serving to exacerbate her desire. Stella’s expression remains serious, and she keeps hold of Dani’s wrists with one hand as another travels down to unbutton her jeans. Dani’s breath catches as Stella slides a single finger sideways along the skin beneath the hem of her underwear, a faint smile returning to her lips. ‘Kiss me,’ Dani breathes, and Stella surprisingly obliges, releasing Dani’s wrists momentarily to reach around and flick the catch on her bra.

'You should know…’ Stella breathes into Dani’s mouth as she pulls the bra off of her and throws it aside, her hands quickly finding the younger woman’s wrists again ‘That I am always… always. The one in control,' her eyes flash with something unrecognisable and vaguely terrifying as she reaches over and pulls the tie from her silk robe, winding it around Dani's wrists again and again, diagonally looping it around until it has almost run out and then tying it tight. 'And this is how you bind wrists...'

Dani just barely glimpses the corner of Stella's lips turning upwards before they're colliding with her own, tongue pushing into her mouth teasingly, a thigh between her own two, friction shooting excitement up the middle of her to her mouth to push out a stifled moan. Then, just like that, the friction is no more and Stella is gone, leaving the words 'don't move' floating in the air that's now between them. Dani obliges, subdued, perhaps out of habit, by the precise dominance of her superior's soft English lilt, her previous hopes of domination falling by the wayside of her desire to be touched by Stella. She hears quiet rustling and wonders what's going on, and then Stella has returned and a soft, black satin blindfold is being placed around her head gently, lips brushing against hers, and then the silence and space is returned, and Dani’s heart begins to race, anticipation coursing through her veins. She feels warm breath on her inner thigh just inside of her left knee, and then lips, and then a wet, silky tongue and shudders as Stella's fingers tease the hem of her briefs. She lifts her hips obligingly so that they can be pulled off along with her jeans; Stella does this slowly, deliberately, planting wet little kisses all the way down Dani's legs as she goes, and then she is gone again, leaving Dani with the wetness of her tongue cooling in the night air on her thighs. 'Stella...?' she tries, and she hears the gentle sound of fabric dropping the floor.

Then, manifesting as if from nowhere, perhaps even her own imagination, she feels the full weight of Stella's naked body sinking into hers, delicate skin against delicate skin, breasts against breasts, nipples grazing nipples, hot breath in her ear murmuring 'you have a very beautiful body, Dani’ as a bare thigh slips between hers again perfectly and Stella moves to gently rub her hip bone against Dani's core, placing a single kiss on her lips before arching her back so that her tongue can find a nipple, her fingers finding the other, teasing laboured little breaths from Dani's lips. And then, just like that, she’s gone again. Frustration rushes out of Dani’s mouth in the form of a harsh expulsion of breath, but just as soon as she opens her mouth to say something, she feels something cold and tight on both of her nipples simultaneously, jolting her out of her anger, and a cold chain rests upon her solar plexus, bringing her sharply into the moment, senses to the surface of her skin. And then, of course, nothing again.

‘You travel with those..?’ she tries, her voice a little more cracked than she might have hoped, what with every nerve ending exigent with anticipation.

‘Do you think I was unaware of your attraction to me?’ Stella answers the question with a question in her uniquely arresting way, her voice calm and almost expressionless, a few metres away.

Dani is silent as her mind turns over previous interactions to try and find her own tells, and Stella cannot be seen or heard, and she is left helpless, unable to see or feel for her superior. The gentle hum of the city continues outside, its distance contrasting with the closeness of the sound of her own slightly laboured breath. She is acutely aware of Stella’s perfume, a voluptuous, saturated, spiced floral scent that hangs in the air behind its wearer like some kind of imprint of her presence. And then, with entirely no warning, Stella’s hot, wet tongue is plunged between her legs, hands sliding beneath her thighs as anchors, and Dani cries out with a marbled mixture of pleasure and surprise as Stella works slick magic on her clitoris and her wrists strain against the silk bind, the lack of control all at once confronting, exhilarating and frustrating.

Stella pauses briefly, eliciting a ‘please, no,’ from Dani’s lips as she pulls one of her arms from its anchor point and considers disappearing again briefly before deciding against it, pressing a single finger against the hood of Dani’s clitoris before sliding it down and into the satisfyingly abundant wetness of her, curling it upwards to locate her g-spot as her head descends once more and her tongue sets to work, Dani emitting something caught between breaths and whimpers, entirely at her superior’s mercy.

‘Oh, fuck…’ Dani breathes gently as Stella increases the pressure, the point of her tongue moving in concentric circles, a matryoshka of pleasure. Dani’s wrists strain against the silk with the desire to grab on to something. ‘Untie me,’ she manages, her voice suddenly commanding, ‘Now,’ she adds for emphasis, and Stella pulls away and crawls up, pulling the blindfold from Dani’s eyes. Stella’s hair is slightly mussed, mouth wet, eyes bright, and Dani stares up at Stella's coy, satisfied expression as she reaches up to pull at the knot and unravel the silk.

The second she feels looseness around them, Dani’s hands shoot to Stella’s shoulders to push her over, flipping her sideways, the silk tie trailing and coming to rest over the top of her breasts as Dani straddles her, clamps pulling at her nipples, chain hanging down upon the silk. Stella looks like some kind of modern, silk swathed Venus De Milo, her expression nonchalant and unaffected. She reaches down and takes back control with her fingers, crippling Dani with pleasure, and the younger woman collapses down upon her, lips against her collarbone, inhaling the heady scent of her perfume, the chain a crack of cool lightning between their overheated bodies. Dani whimpers uncontrollably as Stella does things with her fingers she didn’t previously know were possible, and with her free hand, Stella takes Dani’s and guides it between her own thighs, exhaling a satisfied breath as Dani exhales the same at the feeling of her superior’s wetness on her fingers, and then she moves up and their lips meet in an urgent and vehement kiss as they rock against each other, silk and metal, panting hot breaths of pleasure into each other’s mouths, bodies slick and shining with sweat. Stella’s spare hand finds the back of Dani’s head and her fingers slide through her hair, her grip tight, teetering on the edge of painful as a particularly strong wave of pleasure rockets through her body. Dani moans and bites her superior’s lip in response, and Stella laughs softly, pushing two fingers deep into Dani and pulling back to watch her pupils expand and her breath catch, her deep rust coloured tresses a mess about her pale, pink-cheeked face. She uses the moment to wrestle Dani back over, and then they’re rocking against each other again, Stella smiling equanimously down at Dani, their eyes locked as they pull each other towards climax, the moment heavy and intense, Stella taking hold of Dani’s free wrist with her own and pressing it into the bed, her nails digging in as a half-stifled moan escapes her previously silent mouth.

‘I see… you know what… you’re doing,’ she manages, breath caught between words, stealing a glance down at Dani before her eyes are pressed shut again by the earthquake of pleasure sending tremors through her body.

‘Not my first time,’ Dani breathes nonchalantly, and Stella descends upon her with a cataclysmic kiss.

‘Fuck,’ she moans into Dani’s mouth as her body goes lax and heavy, her grip loosening and her fingers slowing, and Dani smiles into their kiss, pleased with her achievement, and then Stella is back to life, finger and thumb somehow working in different motions as she presses herself up to look down at Dani again, catching her gaze in an iron vice as she works her towards orgasm. They move in mirrored states, faces and chests glittery with fields of minuscule droplets of sweat, baby hairs curling around temples, eyes all powder and periwinkle, viridian and pine, incandescent with lust. The moment Dani’s mouth is pushed open by the volcanic moan it had no hope of containing is feverish, almost holy and messianic, and they remain locked in place, staring at each other, absorbing the beauty and magnitude of what’s just occurred.

Neither woman feels compelled to speak, and slowly they untangle themselves from each other, limbs sweat-sliding away to be kissed by the cool air in the absence of another’s body’s heat, silk and metal cast aside. Stella rises from the bed in all her hard-and-soft glory, and Dani tilts her head, regarding her superior’s well defined back and shoulders, surely from all the swimming, sweeping down to the deeply feminine dip of her back, leading to her hips, existing in perfect proportion to the rest of her, buttocks tight and legs muscular. She meanders over to the minibar and leans down to pull two bottles of water from it, then turns back towards the bed, a golden headed goddess with an offering. She pauses about a foot away from the bed, staring down at Dani, fox-red hair disheveled, seafloor eyes hazy in post-coital bliss, lips forming a dazed smile, skin alabaster and breasts peaking in little pink pinnacles, body soft and still full with the roundness of youth. Stella smiles and hands her subordinate the cool water, and they both drink, eyes still traversing each other’s bodies with great curiosity and hunger. Stella places her empty bottle on the bedside table before crawling back on to the bed and lying down next to Dani, knees inclining sideways and hands resting on her stomach, a deep sigh emanating from the very pit of her stomach. Both women stare up at the fabric panelling on the top of the four poster bed, the sounds of the city outside creeping back into focus. Slowly, Stella turns to face Dani.

‘So…,’ she says, her expression earnest, mouth wearing a faint smile in contrast, ‘shall we go again?’

**\- THE END -**


End file.
